英语听书《白鲸记》第390期

 And though of all men the moody¹ captain of the Pequod was the least given to that sort of shallowest assumption;  "裴廓德号"这位郁郁寡欢的船长,虽说可算是最不善于做出这种浅薄无聊的行动;

and though the only homage² he ever exacted, was implicit³, instantaneous obedience⁴; though he required no man to remove the shoes from his feet ere stepping upon the quarter-deck;  虽说他一向严格要求别人的只是绝对的。毫不犹豫的服从;虽说他并不要求人家得把鞋子脱掉后才能跨上后甲板;

and though there were times when, owing to peculiar⁵ circumstances connected with events hereafter to be detailed⁶, he addressed them in unusual terms, whether of condescension⁷ or in terrorem, or otherwise;  虽说有时由于情况特殊(有关事项以后就要谈到),他对他们说话时会语态失常(不管是出自谦虚还是带有警告性质或者其它等等);

yet even Captain Ahab was by no means unobservant of the paramount⁸ forms and usages of the sea. 然而,即使如此,亚哈船长可也决不是不遵守海上的种种至高形式和习惯的。

Nor, perhaps, will it fail to be eventually perceived, that behind those forms and usages, as it were, he sometimes masked himself;  也许还可以看到,他有时仿佛是以这种形式和习惯为掩护。来把自己伪装起来;

incidentally making use of them for other and more private ends than they were legitimately⁹ intended to subserve.  偶然利用这种形式和习惯,以达到其它一些比之形式和习惯所能合法效劳的更要隐蔽的目的。

That certain sultanism of his brain, which had otherwise in a good degree remained unmanifested;  他脑子里还有相当程度的。未曾显露的君主观念;

through those forms that same sultanism became incarnate¹⁰ in an irresistible¹¹ dictatorship.  通过这些形式,那种君主观念便体现为一种难以抗拒的独裁。

For be a man's intellectual superiority what it will, it can never assume the practical, available supremacy¹² over other men, without the aid of some sort of external arts and entrenchments, always, in themselves, more or less paltry¹³ and base.  因为一个人随他有多大的卓越的智力,那种智力总不能永远对别人施行一种随心所欲的霸权,而不需要借助某种形式上的策略和防备手段,尽管这种策略和防备手段本身多少总有点可鄙和卑劣。

This it is, that for ever keeps God's true princes of the Empire from the world's hustings¹⁴;  帝国的名正言顺的皇子皇孙之所以能够始终免掉人间的选举手续,

and leaves the highest honors that this air can give, to those men who become famous more through their infinite inferiority to the choice hidden handful of the Divine Inert¹⁵, than through their undoubted superiority over the dead level of the mass.  而且把这种风尚所能产生的最高的荣誉归之于那些成名的人,就正是这个道理,虽然这些人之成名,与其说是因为他们具有确切无疑的超越于大众的迟钝水平的能力,倒不如说是因为他们是无能的神力所秘密创造出来的一小撮劣等货。

1 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

2 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

3 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

4 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

5 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 condescension   

n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人)

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• Despite its condescension toward the Bennet family, the letter begins to allay Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy. 尽管这封信对班纳特家的态度很高傲，但它开始消除伊丽莎白对达西的偏见。

8 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

9 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 incarnate   

adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的

参考例句：

• She was happiness incarnate.她是幸福的化身。
• That enemy officer is a devil incarnate.那个敌军军官简直是魔鬼的化身。

11 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

12 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

13 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

14 hustings   

n.竞选活动

参考例句：

• With only days to go before elections in Pakistan,candidates are battling it out at the hustings.离巴基斯坦大选只有几天的时间了，各候选人正在竞选活动上一决胜负。
• Most politicians will be at the hustings in the coming week.大多数政治家将在下周展开竞选活动。

15 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。